Autocrypt - Automating E-Mail Encryption

What E-Mail can learn from the success of end-to-end encrypted messengers

A short talk about Autocrypt, a standard for decentralized and automated public-key management for e-mail encryption, built on OpenPGP.

Autocrypt is a set of guidelines for developers to achieve convenient end-to-end-encryption of e-mails. It specifies how e-mail programs negotiate encryption capabilities using regular e-mails. For users, Autocrypt Level 1 offers single-click, opt-in encryption, eases encrypted group communications, and provides a way to setup encryption on multiple devices. It builds on the OpenPGP standard for compatibility, but tries to automate key management for the user as much as possible, without relying on provider support or centralized infrastructure. It is supported in Enigmail as well as K-9 Mail, among others. In a short talk, we'll go over our technical as well as our cultural approach.